Campo bends a few ears re lack of skills!

Ex Planet Rugby

Former Wallaby winger David Campese believes most current players wouldn't have cut it in his era as they lack skill and don't work as a team.

Campese represented Australia from 1982 and 1996, notching up 64 tries in 101 appearances as he established himself as a Wallaby great.

The 49-year-old has remained close to the game since his retirement and has never been shy to speak his mind.

His latest criticisim has been directed at the skill level of the modern player, which he believes is far inferior to that of his generation.

"In reality, I think more than half of today's players wouldn't have cut it in my era," Campese is quoted as saying by the Western Mail. (hahahahahahaha more than half the players in his era would get slaghtered if they played today - including campo te great)

"Sure, the players today are faster and stronger, but they're no way near as skilful. (So are you still sure they would not cut it?)

"Think about the great teams I played with. We played like a team. And we played because we enjoyed it.

"These days, players don't know how to play as part of a team. All they think about is themselves.

"So to all you critics who think that the modern players have it over players from my era, let me tell you this: Players from my generation would have run rings around them." (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HILARIOUS STUFF FROM OU CMAPO - YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE GUY!!!!))

The New South Wales native bemoaned the lack of invention and attacking rugby being played, insisting that players are not taking enough responsibility for what they need to get done.

When we played we played attacking rugby and we believed in the way we played," he said.

"The way in which the modern game is played can be seen in the lack of opportunities that Western Force's wonderful Fijian winger, Napolioni Nalaga, got [against the Cheetahs].

"I coached him in Fiji last year. What a great player.

"But watching him now, he is just another winger who never gets the ball to show what he can do. Why?

"In fact, can someone explain to me why we even have wingers these days?

"You never see them in the back-line.

"Really, I can't think of too many of today's players who would oust the guys from some of the great teams over the years.

"All you need to do now is run straight, don't pass, and tackle well."

"We didn't need to watch a video to know what to do because players made the decisions back then," he added on the Australian website The Roar.

"Coaches gave us the plan and we carried it out. If we didn't, we would get dropped.

"We wanted to win for each other, so that's why we trained and left no stone unturned.

"Back then, half-time breaks were often spent on the field itself, without the coach around.

"These days, the water runners are all over the park, running out directions for the team to follow.

"I know of a Super Rugby coach who used to sit on top of the grandstand and display coloured lights for players to know what to do. (yES OU RASSIE WAS WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME!!)

"Professionalism is not about money. It's about attitude. We would never have won the Rugby World Cup if we hadn't have played as a team."

Dispite all this chest beating (we were were so great stuff)  from Campo he does coach backs well and we saw that when he coached the sharks backline.

Why in the wolrd don't we get a backline caoch like this. Even if Meyer wants loubscher, Alistair should grab the guy if possible.

Campo is a complete fool

Actually he has some valid points on the skills of players, but i won't go as far though as he did. Don't just play him off as a fool, the guy has a respected oppinion although sometimes overinflated of himself but still he is no idiot.

Ek, daveou battles with spotting acumen.  Campo has a good rugby brain on him. He is no fool and did wonders for the sharks backline.

I recall getting roasted by oak sand mongs for suggesting Muir was not a great backline coach because the talented sharks backs underperformed. Campo came along and there was a vast improvement and guess who won tha targument. Beeno not daveou - Sound familiar? Bwahahahahahahaha

Ah this will be the same Campo who coahced a schools first team in Natal and they kept losing every match. Campo is a self opinionated fool who knows very little about the requirements of a great player. The skill of the forwards in his day were virtually non existent, so for a start he is speaking complete rubbish.

Campo would not have smelt a modern day Oz test side

Was he under 90 kg? 

The professional area has improved in that players are fitter and stronger.

However now days backline players spend as much time on the creatine and weights as the forwards. Many Backlkine players are heavier than Victor Matfield who only weighs 5kgs after competing in some marathon!

They are more crash ball orientated creatine freaks. This has made rugby union more like League, with 15 players are are close to being the same power, size and speed.

With forwards now being fitter and faster, their is less space on the field for the backs to run. Perhaps this has also caused the need for stronger backs that can match forwards in physicality- 

The Breyton Paulse, Brent Rusells, Christian Cullens, and Percy(pre-creatine steriods) are few and far between- 

 Yes, forwards are more involved in general play, defences are more structured........so its all about skill and size these days, if you cant beat a man through skill you need to power your way over the advantage line.......I keep telling this lot that there is no place for the likes of de Jongh, Ebersohn, Aplon and Basson in modern day test rugby, but alas the penny is yet to drop

Campo is definitely not a fool - he knows rugby really well and has made some good points.   In the past the most effective players were those with ball sense - they knew how to be at critical places at critical times and how to use their skills to maximum advantage of the team.

However, in the modern game skill has been reduced and the answer is strength and weight rather than skill and ball sense.   Unfortunately this often lead to selection of stereotyped players such as Morne Steyn.    I believe the objective should be to ensure that selection is based not only on strength and weight - but on a combination comprising all three key elements (strength, weight and skill/ball sense) and to try and identify really gifted players.    Lambie is an excellent example of the latter combination.   

Sharkbok, I agree wholeheartedly, I would however still rather see the rugby players than the league players. Ironically the one player showing some of the best skills come's from league. I am tired of big bash em up rugby, compared to some of the games from the 1980's it is crap. I would much rather see the skillfull Danie gerbers and Naas Botha's play.

Sorry, I really don't buy into Campo's thinking here. With the defense of today's teams, the "creativity" of years gone by, would have been shut down and rendered useless. With the technology that coaches and players use today, countless hours are spent working out ways of scoring points/defending, and they then do what is calculated to be most effective. Campo's logic is the same as that of the idiots at pubs, home that I watch games with that carry on about swinging the ball out to the wings. If you just simply swing the ball to the wings modern defenses will shut you down. Players with flair that offer something special are as able to create magic today as they ever were, Quade, Jantjies, Carter, Gitteau (A few years back), Habana, Hougard, Ioane, Sonny Bill etc etc etc etc. Sorry, I just think this man is talking out of his arse. 

S15 Backlines. - Skills- move the ball - Cheetahs - Johan Goosen - need i say more.

Whatever you want to say the fact is that SA backlines tend to lack flair and creativity as compared to Oz and Nz. To succeed you do, as Mike says, need pace, power and skill. One is after all competing against the best the world has to offer. Our skills levels in the backs are not great.

The only team that plays to its backline potential are the Cheetahs. Hats of to the Cheetahs backline coach. We have also seen an average Lions backline play some really good rugby at times. All this make one wonder how good a Bok backline could be with the correct coaching etc. But it needs to start lower down.

Blixem Beeno, you are giving the NZ'ers and the Aussies a lot of ammo to mow you down.

".....................compared to Oz and Nz................"                                 "One is after all competing against the best the world has to offer."

Windpomp Beeno the realist acknowledges that nz and oz are top teams. Look at the rankings if you doubt that.

Our position is that we were born to rule the rugby world and nz and oz in particualr but we shoot ourselves in the foot far too often. In addition to that we have to contend with seriously bent refs from down under. 

To compete at the highest level of the game we need to be smart and our players skillful. I do trust you can admit our backline skills are behind those downunder oaks.  Hard for a bulle to admit to being less than perfect but seeing bulle dont make up the whole Bok backline perhaps you can rise to the occassion Windpomp?